UKRI
Salary: £86,731.
Band: UKRI Band H.
Contract Type: Open ended.
Hours: Full-time/ Part Time (Minimum 29.6 hours per week) (flexible working available).
Location: Swindon - Hybrid working available.
Closing Date: Sunday 29 th March 2026.
Interviews: Proposed to take place week commencing 20 th April.
About the role
We are seeking a Deputy Director of Data Technology that has a passion for data as a force for research, innovation, and public good to provide the technical leadership that will turn our ambitious data strategy into reality. Supporting the Chief Data Officer, you will shape and deliver the next generation of data platforms, services, and values across UKRI.
This exciting role operates as an enterprise leader for UKRI's data systems - shaping behaviours, ensuring compliance with standards, and driving adoption across all UKRI Councils, corporate platforms, organisational units, and programmes. The role is outward-facing and focused on end-to-end processes, ensuring that UKRI functions as a coherent, interoperable, federated data organisation. You will be accountable for the technical foundations, interoperability and platform standards that enable UKRI to function as a coherent, data-driven organisation.
Your responsibilities
* Defining and delivering the multi-year technical roadmap for UKRI's enterprise data platforms, embedding modern approaches such as data mesh, data as a product, and FAIR/open standards.
* Leading multi-disciplinary matrix teams of data engineers, architects, and platform specialists. Building permanent capability, reducing reliance on contractors.
* Collaborating with senior leaders across Councils and CIO functions to adopt enterprise architecture patterns, data contracts, and interoperability standards.
* Mandating cloud-native, secure, and scalable data solutions, enabling analytics, AI/ML, and evidence-based decision-making.
* Collaborating with senior leaders across government, academia, and industry to ensure interoperability, data sharing, and responsible innovation.
* Working with Architecture colleagues to enforce enterprise data architecture, interoperability, and platform standards across UKRI, ensuring that all Councils and programmes adopt relevant standards and design authority decisions.
* Scanning the horizon for emerging technologies and integrating these into UKRI's enterprise patterns through enforceable design authority decisions where they deliver measurable value.
* Driving adoption of the Data Operating Model across UKRI, to enforce consistent architecture, metadata plumbing, lineage enablement, and platform-level quality gates.
* Ensuring the Data Centre of Expertise is the primary route for building permanent capability and preventing local technical divergence.
* Enabling cross-UKRI programmes through shared definitions, reusable data products, consistent governance, and early engagement with programme directors.
Working relationships
* Leading enterprise adoption and compliance across all UKRI domains working closely with the CDO and their senior team.
* Influencing behaviours and expectations for senior leaders across UKRI.
* Connecting with senior counterparts in other Government agencies and departments.
Cultural & Behavioural Change
This role leads the cultural shift from locally built solutions to enterprise-wide, standards-driven technology. You will promote modern engineering practices, strengthen professional capability, and encourage reuse over bespoke workarounds. You will model secure-by-design behaviours and help teams adopt UKRI-wide patterns, ensuring technology is treated as a shared enterprise asset.
Personal Specification
The below criteria will be scored during Shortlisting (S), Interview (I) or both (S&I).
Essential
* A proven, dedicated leader in modern data engineering, data architecture, and platform delivery, with experience at scale in AWS and Azure (I).
* Experience in enterprise design and operation of data platforms in complex multi - domain or federated organisations (S).
* Evidenced knowledge of modern data technologies (streaming, orchestration, Lakehouse platforms, APIs, DevSecOps) (S&I).
* Demonstrable understanding of data governance and data security (e.g., security by design and privacy by design and compliance with Government functional standards. More information on this below at the bottom of the description [i]) (I).
* A record of building and inspiring high-performing technical and matrix managed multidisciplinary teams, and of shifting organisations away from contractor dependency (I).
* Ability to translate complex technical concepts into clear insights and experience in measuring and communicating progress and outcomes for decision-makers (I).
* Experience in leading change, for example in complex platform transformations (S&I).
Benefits
We recognise and value our employees as individuals and aim to provide a favourable pay and rewards package. We are committed to supporting employees' development and promote a culture of continuous learning!
A list of benefits below:
* An outstanding defined benefit pension scheme.
* 30 days' annual leave in addition to 10.5 public and privilege days (full time equivalent).
* Employee discounts and offers on retail and leisure activities.
* Employee assistance programme, providing confidential help and advice.
* Flexible working options.
Plus many more benefits and wellbeing initiatives that enable our employees to have a great work life balance!
For further information on our benefits please see:
Benefits of working at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)
Please apply online, if you experience any issue applying, please contact Recruitment@ukri.org .
Please note, if you will require sponsorship to work in the UK, as part of your sponsorship application, you and any dependants travelling with you, will be required to pay costs directly to The Home Office for the application before you start your role with us. UKRI is normally able to reimburse some, or all of these fees after you have become an employee and this can be discussed with the Hiring Manager. For more information, please visit https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa/how-much-it-costs or contact Recruitment@ukri.org .
This is a chance to shape one of the UK's most significant public data programmes - building the platforms that will power discovery, policy, and innovation for years to come. You will be joining a collaborative organisation with a unique mission to advance knowledge, improve lives, and drive growth, that values inclusion, professional growth, and impact at scale.
UKRI is investing in the future of research and innovation - and data is at the heart of it. We are building a modern, cloud-native, AI-ready data ecosystem to unlock insights, power discovery, and strengthen UK competitiveness.
We offer flexible working arrangements, strong commitment to professional development, and the chance to collaborate with talented colleagues across multiple research councils solving challenging problems at the intersection of data, governance, and organisational transformation.
[i] Including, but not limited to the HMG Digital, Data and Technology Functional Standard, Government Data Quality Framework, HMG Data Lifecycle, Cyber Assessment Framework (CAF), and Information Management & Retention Standards.
UKRI - UK Research and Innovation
UKRI is an organisation that brings together the seven disciplinary research councils, Research England and Innovate UK. Together, we build an independent organisation with a strong voice and vision ensuring the UK maintains its world-leading position in research and innovation.
Supporting some of the world's most exciting and challenging research projects, we develop and operate some of the most remarkable scientific facilities in the world. We are pushing the frontiers of human knowledge through fundamental research and delivering benefits for UK society and the economy through world-class research, skills and business-led innovation.
More information can be found at www.ukri.org .
Choosing to come to work at UKRI means that you will have access to a whole host of benefits from a defined benefit pension scheme, excellent holiday entitlement, access to employee shopping/travel discounts and salary sacrifice cycle to work scheme. For more details, visit benefits of working for UKRI .
How we support EDI in the workforce
At UKRI, we believe that everyone has a right to be treated with dignity and respect, and to be provided with equal opportunities to thrive and succeed in an environment that enables them to do so. We also value diversity of thought and experience within inclusive groups, organisations and the wider community. For further information, please visit 'How we support EDI in the workforce'.
Disability Confident Employer
As users of the disability confident scheme, any candidate who opts into the scheme and best meets the essential criteria, will be shortlisted for interview. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.
How to apply
Online applications only preferred for this role. Please submit a CV and covering letter which clearly outlines how you fulfil the criteria specified along with your motivation for UKRI and the role. Ensure that the job reference number is included in the filename description of each document uploaded. Note that failure to address the above criteria or submit an application without a covering letter may result in the application not being considered. Assessment will only be based upon the content of your submitted covering letter and CV and not the 'experience' section of the application.
UKRI seeks to ensure it creates and maintains a system of openness, fairness and inclusion - a collaborative, trusted environment, which is attractive to and accessible to everyone who is interested in developing their career with us.
The role holder will be required to have the appropriate level of security screening/vetting required for the role. UKRI reserves the right to run or re-run security clearance as required during the course of employment.